Amateur-built DHC-8-311 incident near Rapid City, South Dakota, February 24, 1997
On February 24, 1997 at about 1:36 pm local time, a amateur-built DHC-8-311, registered N430AW, was involved in an incident near Rapid City, South Dakota. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 45 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
a missing 'C' clip, which resulted in the master link coming apart, allowing the electric elevator trim chain and cable to become entangled in the elevator trim cables.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 24, 1997 · about 1:36 pm local time
- Place
- Rapid City, South Dakota · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 45 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built DHC-8-311
- Registration
- N430AW · registry record · serial 279
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The captain said that he engaged the airplane's autopilot while passing through 10,000 feet mean sea level (msl). About 10 minutes later, the crew noticed illumination of a 'PITCH MISTRIM, TRIM NOSE DOWN' annunciator light. The captain attempted to trim the airplane using the manual elevator trim, but it would allow only limited movement. The crew declared an emergency, returned to Rapid City, and landed the airplane without further incident. A postincident inspection of the aft fuselage compartment revealed that one of the two master links (which held the chain and cable assembly to the electric elevator trim system) had come apart. The chain had subsequently entangled itself in the elevator trim cables. Further examination revealed that the 'C' clip (which snaps to the two posts of the master link base plate and held the master link cover plate in place) was missing.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 8,500 hours in all; 2,000 in this make and model; 200 in the last 90 days; 70 in the last 30 days; 6,500 as pilot in command; 900 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 13,374 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, February 16, 1997; 20 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 41,120 lb
- Seats: 50
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W PW123 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Mesa Airlines
The flight
- Departed from: RAP at 1:15 pm
- Destination: DEN Denver CO
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 330° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 19°F (-7°C), dew point 14°F (-10°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:36 pm from RAP, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 3 | |||
| Passengers | 42 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.